Bottle opener

ABSTRACT

The invention also provides for a bottle opener that includes a finger engaging portion adapted to at least partially surround at least one finger. A handle portion is fixed to the finger engaging portion. The handle portion includes an opening head. The opening head includes a central opening. The central opening is defined by a bearing edge, a catching edge and two lateral sides. The handle portion has a surface that engages a user&#39;s palm when the bottle opener is used to open a bottle. This Abstract is not intended to define the invention disclosed in the specification, nor intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a National Stage Application of InternationalApplication No. PCT/FR01/01142, filed Apr. 13, 2001. Further, thepresent application claims priority of French Patent Application No.00/06497 filed on May 22, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a bottle opening device. The bottle openingdevice can be a crown cork opener and can be positioned onto the fingersof the hand.

2. Discussion of Background Information

Crown corks are intended to act as stoppers for the necks of bottles.The rims of the bottles have a retainer of semitoric shape or a screwthread having at least one undercut. Crown corks consist mainly of ametal disk placed on the neck concentric therewith, the edges of whichare knocked down laterally to crimp it onto the retainer, thus forming acrinkle band. A great many crown cork openers exist. These devicesgenerally comprise a handle extended by an opening head and comprise twodevices. One device is an opening head which bears on the upper part ofthe cap. Another device is used for catching under at least one crinkleof the crinkle band. When the bottle opener is in position on the crowncork, opening is achieved either by raising the handle if the catchingdevice is situated between the handle and the bearing device, or bylowering the handle if the bearing device is between the handle and thecatching device.

Patent FR-A-2,707,278 describes a bottle opener that additionallycomprises a device for fitting the latter onto a finger of the hand.This adapter device forms, with the opening head, a ring which, whenslipped onto a finger, allows the bottle opener to be secured to thehand. Under these conditions, the handle of the bottle opener lies inthe palm of the hand and bottle opening is achieved by leaning on thehandle with the palm of the hand. This adapter device is connected tothe bottle opener in a region lying between the bearing device and thecatching device which lie at the level of the first finger bone in theregion where the finger bones are well differentiated. A device such asthis has the disadvantage of being relatively bulky and of hampering theuser in his other activities such as, for example, handling coins orshaking hands with someone else. What happens is that the additionalthickness of the opening head situated under the finger bone and thehandle prevents certain objects from being grasped correctly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention therefore provides for a bottle opener fixed to thefingers of the hand by a fixing device in such a way that serving staffserver using a tray to serve a round of drinks indoors or out can openthe bottles with just one hand. This can be accomplished without having(beforehand) to reach into a pocket for the bottle opener, and thencarry out all the other operations involved in the opening function. Inthis way, the user is not significantly hampered by the bottle opener,which remains in place on his or her hand.

The invention also provides for a bottle opener that comprises a fingerengaging portion adapted to at least partially surround at least onefinger. A handle portion is fixed to the finger engaging portion. Thehandle portion includes an opening head. The opening head comprises acentral opening. The central opening is defined by a bearing edge, acatching edge and two lateral sides. The handle portion has a surfacethat engages a user's palm when the bottle opener is used to open abottle.

The finger engaging portion may comprise a ring. The finger engagingportion may comprise a split ring. The finger engaging portion maycomprise two ring sector portions, whereby one ring sector portion isadapted to receive a user's index finger and whereby another ring sectoris adapted to receive a user's middle finger.

The bottle opener may further comprise a connecting portion thatconnects the two ring sectors to the handle portion. The connectingportion may be adapted to fit between the user's middle and indexfingers. The connecting portion may comprise a thickness and a widththat is greater than the thickness. The connecting portion may have awidth that is less than a width of the finger engaging portion. Thefinger engaging portion may comprise a split ring. The finger engagingportion may comprise two ring sector portions, whereby one ring sectorportion is adapted to receive a user's index finger and whereby anotherring sector is adapted to receive a user's middle finger. The connectingportion may comprise a deformable region.

The bearing edge may be rigid and roughly flat. The catching edge may bea rigid blade. The catching edge may comprise one of a straight edge anda slightly concave edge. The catching edge may be coupled to a surfacethat is arranged on a plane that is different from a plane of the handleportion that is connected to the finger engaging portion, whereby theplanes are arranged parallel to one another. The two planes may bespaced apart from one another by an amount. The lateral sides maycomprise guiding edges. The handle portion and the finger engagingportion may be made from steel. The handle portion and the fingerengaging portion may be formed from a steel sheet that has been bent andwelded. The handle portion may comprise steel and the finger engagingportion may comprise plastic. The finger engaging portion may beovermolded with plastic by injection molding.

The invention also provides for a method of opening a bottle using thebottle opener described above wherein the method comprises installingthe finger engaging portion on at least one finger of a user, arrangingthe handle portion on an inside part of a user's hand so that the handleportion engages the palm of the hand, bending the user's fingers to gripa neck of the bottle, and opening the bottle with the opening head.

The invention also provides for a bottle opener comprising a fingerengaging portion adapted to at least partially surround at least onefinger. The finger engaging portion has an upper portion and a narrowerlower portion. A metal handle portion is fixed to the finger engagingportion. The handle portion has a thickness, a width that is greaterthan the thickness, and an opening head. The opening head comprises acentral opening that is disposed on an angled portion of the handleportion. The angled portion is arranged between two parallel surfaces ofthe handle portion. The central opening is defined by a bearing edge, acatching edge and two lateral sides. The handle portion has a surfacethat engages a user's palm when the bottle opener is used to open abottle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the appended drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in elevation of the bottle opener;

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof from above;

FIG. 4 is a view in elevation of an alternative form of embodiment ofthe bottle opener; and

FIG. 5 is a side view thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, the device 1 (FIGS. 1 to 3) for fixing thebottle opener 2 is placed, not at the level of the opening head 3, butat the level of the handle 4 so that the opening head 3 is placed in thepalm of the hand while the handle 4, which is shortened. The fixingdevice 1 is arranged at the level of the first finger bones, i.e., ofthe index and the middle finger, where they are differentiated. When thefingers are in place in the fixing device 1, the opening head 3 isplaced in the palm of the hand. The opening head 3 is thus placed at thebase of the first finger bones where these are no longer-differentiatedand are articulated to the metacarpal bones. In other words, it isarranged between the base of the index finger and of the middle fingerand the transverse crease of the palm. Under these conditions, the palmof the hand can be folded and the opening head 3 can retract into thisregion of the palm of the hand which is fleshy and not hamper themovements of the hand.

In a preferred version of the invention, a first fixing device 1 mayinclude two ring sectors 5 and 6 (FIG. 1) of variable width 8 (FIG. 2)placed back to back with a common part 7 being arranged in a centralregion. The device can thus be placed between the outside of the indexfinger and the inside of the middle finger (in the anatomic meaning ofthe term) and where these two fingers meet. The thickness 9 of thiscommon part 7 is of the order of 1 to 2 millimeters so as to allow theindex and middle finger to remain contiguous. Common Part 7 has a width10 (FIG. 2) which may range from 5 to 10 millimeters. The common part 7is arranged and shaped in such a way that it can be housed and wedged inan area where the two fingers meet. In this way, the middle and indexfinger can be moved apart without the fixing device 1 escapingtherefrom. The lower part 11 of the ring sectors 5 and 6 is connected tothe handle 4 which has a width 12 (FIG. 3) that is wide enough for thefront part of the first finger bone of the index and of the middlefinger to be able to press there without, however, hampering themovements of the ring finger and of the thumb. The upper part 13 of thering sectors 5 and 6 comprises a widened region 14 on the side facingtoward the articulation of the finger bones with the metacarpal bone.Correspondingly, the regions of connection 15 of the upper part 13 ofthe ring sectors 5 and 6 with their common part 7 have deformableregions 15. These allow the curvature of the ring sectors 5 and 6 toadapt to suit the fatness of the user's fingers.

The opening head 3 (FIG. 1) comprises a central cut-out 16 that includesa first side situated on the same side as the fingers, a second sidesituated facing the side of the crease line of the palm, and lateralsides connecting the first and the second side. The first side includesa bearing device 17 which allows the opening head 3 to bear against theupper part of the crown cork. The bearing device 17 is a rigid androughly flat portion and is situated in the continuation of the handle 4which constitutes a lever arm. It has a roughly straight bearing border18 bordering the cut-out 16, of a length of the order of magnitude of achord of a circle circumscribing the crinkle band situated at adistance, ranging from one quarter to one sixth of the length of thediameter, away from the center of the crinkle band. When the bearingdevice 17 is in place prior to the bottle opening operation, the bearingborder 18 determines a line of pivoting of the lever arm consisting ofthe handle 4, positioned as described above with respect to the circlecircumscribing the crinkle band. When the bearing device 17 is in placeprior to bottle-opening, it is positioned in a plane which makes a smallangle with the upper part of the crown cork. The second side comprises acatching device 19 (FIG. 3) which is a rigid blade. The central regionof the blade is placed under the crinkles of the crinkle band when thebearing device 17 is in place on the top face of the crown cork asdescribed above. This catching device 19 comprises a catching border 20which is either straight or slightly concave and which lies in a planeparallel to the plane of the bearing device 17 and at a distance of thesame order of magnitude as the height of the crown cork.

The first side and second side are connected by lateral sides 21 and 22of which the parts bordering the cutout 16 preferably constitute guides23 and 24 allowing the bearing 18 and catching 20 borders to bepositioned correctly. Indeed, all that is required is for the handle 4to be placed on the upper part of the crown cork with the common part 7centered on the upper part of the crown cork and for the hand to bemoved straight forward, bending the fingers to grip the neck of thebottle under the crown cork so that the bearing border 18 becomespositioned on the crown cork and the catching border 20 becomespositioned under the crinkle band. Next, the first finger bones of theindex and middle finger press against the handle 4 via their front face,while the rear face of the first finger bones bear against the widenedregion 14 of the upper part 13 of the ring sectors 5 and 6 and allow thecrown cork to be deformed thus uncrimping it.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the first fixing device 1(FIG. 1) is replaced by a second fixing device 25 (FIGS. 4 and 5) of thebottle opener 30 utilizing a ring 26 that is split at its upper part 27fixed on the handle 28 and into which the middle or index finger of thehand is slipped. This ring has the same type of widened region 29 asthose described for the upper part 13 (FIG. 2) of the ring sectors.

The fixing devices thus described can be made entirely of metal such asa stainless steel sheet that is 2 millimeters thick for example. Thesheet can be pressed and spot-welded. In a preferred version, part ofthe handle 4, 28 and the opening head 3 are made of metal, while thefixing 30 device 1, 25 is made of injection-molded plastic which ispreferably overmolded onto the handle 4, 28. In this way, the geometriccharacteristics can be modified to allow overmolding.

1. A bottle opener comprising: a ring-shaped finger engaging portionhaving an opening configured to receive a user's finger, a lower end,and a wider upper end; a handle portion fixed to the lower end of thering-shaped finger engaging portion; the handle portion having a freeend and an inclined angle portion arranged between the free end and thering-shaped finger engaging portion; the inclined angle portion beinginclined at an angle relative to a center axis of the opening configuredto receive a user's finger; the inclined angle portion comprising acentral opening defined by a bearing device, a catching device and twolateral sides; the central opening being arranged between thering-shaped finger engaging portion and the free end of the handleportion; and the bearing device being closer to the ring-shaped fingerengaging portion than the catching device and the catching device beingcloser to the free end of the handle portion than the bearing device. 2.The bottle opener of claim 1, wherein the ring-shaped finger engagingportion and the handle portion comprise metal and the ring-shaped fingerengaging portion is overmolded with the plastic by injection molding. 3.A bottle opener comprising: a finger engaging portion configured toreceive at least one finger; a handle portion having a first end, asecond end, a first side which is fixed to the finger engaging portionand a second side; the handle portion further including an opening head;the opening head being an inclined angle portion of the handle portionthat is arranged between the first and the second ends and that extendsfrom the second side to a spaced apart parallel third surface whichextends to the second end; the inclined angle portion having a centralopening defined by a bearing device, a catching device and two lateralsides; the bearing device being closer to the first end than thecatching device and the catching device being closer to the second endthan the bearing device, wherein the first side of the handle portion isstructured and arranged to engage a user's palm when the bottle openeris used to open a bottle.
 4. A method of removing a bottle capcomprising: providing a bottle opener including a finger engagingportion configured to receive at least one finger, a handle portionhaving a first end, a second end, a first side which is fixed to thefinger engaging portion and a second side, the handle portion furtherincluding an opening head, the opening head being an inclined angleportion of the handle portion that is arranged between the first and thesecond ends and that extends from the second side to a spaced apartparallel third surface which extends to the second end, the inclinedangle portion having a central opening defined by a bearing device, acatching device and two lateral sides, the bearing device being closerto the first end than the catching device and the catching device beingcloser to the second end than the bearing device, wherein the first sideof the handle portion is structured and arranged to engage a user's palmwhen the bottle opener is used to open a bottle; positioning the fingerengaging portion onto at least one finger; engaging the bottle cap withthe central opening of the opening head portion; and moving the handleportion to a position which removes the bottle cap from the bottle.